The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

A Confession by Leo Tolstoy

Until I Find You by John Irving

Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli

I was at the library for story hour with the little ladies that I nanny, and this was on the shelf. The sticker covered the author's first name, but the last jumped out at me....SPINELLI. Jerry Spinelli is one of my favorite authors, and this is told in verse-ish story poem....sold. Then I opened the book and saw that the author is actually his wife, Eileen.

Diana loves writing and astronomy, has a cozy little life (much as we all do in third grade) that revolves around her family, her best friend, and her house. Then her dad loses his job and they have to move. With phenomenal pencil drawings by Matt Phelan to accompany this gem of a succinct little story, I'm sure I'll return to read it again and revel in it's message.



"She tells us:
be brave,
be messy,
write what we feel,
tell the truth,
love who we are,
share,
keep a notebook,
take it everywhere,
open our eyes
and our hearts."

Boom! by Mark Haddon

The Book of Joe by Jonathan Tropper